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2nd June, Portpatrick - Port Mora
Distance: 1.6km /
Ascent: 50m / Time Taken:
30mins
Food drops, a long drive, Portpatrick and
setting up first camp.
3rd June, Port Mora - Laggangarn
Distance:
43km / Ascent: 680m / Time
Taken: 14hrs
I got up after Mackenzie, resting in the warmth of the tent. I waited until the
sun took the chill out the air, then had breakfast and packed up. It was a
beautiful morning and the first day of SUW. It was going to be a long day but I
left great about what was to come. Packed and ready to go, I hoisted the
rucksack on my back and made sure to the touch the west coast ocean because I
hoped to do the same on the east coast. Then we were walking. The initial walk
along the coast was very pleasant walking and I was almost sad most of the walk
would take place inland. Trying to get into the rhythm, I thought about the long
miles ahead and all the footsteps to come. It felt enormous.
Above Killantringan Bay we turned inland. Snaking upwards among the fields, the
horizon disappeared around each hillock and field until it was no more. The Way
zigzags between fields until it reaches Broad Moor where the cultivated farmland
gives way to moor. The route climbs to 160m on Mulloch Hill although we didn't
make it all the way up, preferring to contour around past the cows the sat on
the top. We'd already seen violent cows in our first couple of miles and
fence-jumping left me with barbed wire cuts and shock from electric fences.
We followed the tracks down towards Stranraer, past fields, enjoying this sunny
day. We stopped at Castle Kennedy for lunch before continuing on towards
Laggangarn bothy. It got a bit tedious after that and by the time we were on the
way to New Luce we were just counting the miles. We dodged some more cows and
were completely done in by our food drop. It was good to stop for once having
reached this check point, but we'd been walking 12 hours and had a couple of
hours to go before our bothy.
The moors beyond New Luce were seemed desolate, but the pace remained and we
were still in good spirits. The evening sun was sinking into a hazy sky, tinting
the brown moorland grasses into deeper yellows. There were no mountains, it was
just ... flat. It was flat and empty but not necessarily in a bad way. The
forest on the horizon came to our foreground and before long we'd arrived at it.
Laggangarn was somewhere in there.
Then we got a bit desperate and started marching full pelt in an exhausted state
without anything to tell us where we were. And it went on and on and on... We
were knackered. Worse than knackered, actually. I wanted to get there, put my
feet up, rest and feel good.
And then around the corner it came. It's a wee place in a clearing in the
forest, but we opened the door and inside were a couple already asleep. Damn! I
wanted to make some noise, throw my stuff on the floor, banter a bit and feel
good, but I had to sit and feel exhausted in silence. Mackenzie said I looked
like a suffering when I first sat down - he may have been right, I was panting
and panting from that last effort. Otherwise, the only sounds I made were the
occasional whispers to Mackenzie as not to disturb the sleeping couple next to
us, which was annoying because we'd only arrived at quarter to ten! After a
quick bite to eat, I rolled over and went to sleep.
4th June, Laggangarn - White Laggan
Distance: 40.4km / Ascent:
830m / Time Taken: 13hrs 40mins
Waking up with aches and pains, desolate
'forestry', open fresh space of Craig Airie Fell, more claustrophobic forestry,
Hill of Ochiltree + views, knackering descent to Bargrennan. Rest and food, then
pick up food drop (but left firewood) had beautiful, fun walk towards Glen Trool
- beautiful place. Getting a bit knackered then the final, utterly torturous
hours before reaching White Laggan.
5th June, White Laggan - Culmark
Distance:
35.7km / Ascent: 570m / Time
Taken: 12hrs 30mins
Enjoyable walking in the morning past Loch
Dee and Clatteringshaws Loch, then harder walking to Dalry. Heavier clouds
coming on at this point with spits of rain. Walk down road towards Dalry NOT
fun, then feeling low at Dalry when Mackenzie's jacket was missing, only to be
found again. Wonderful sunny evening walk north out of Dalry, first picking up
food drop (getting licked to death by a dog) then heading onto the moors. Great
fun and the easiest day yet. Didn't knackered by the end of the day but not the
lesson in torture of 24 hours previous.
6th June, Culmark - Sanquhar
Distance:
32.1km / Ascent: 800m / Time
Taken: 12hrs 20mins
Interesting cloud lapping over the hills
in the morning. Hard initially to find way marks towards Manquhill Hill. Slog up
Benbrack then the awe at the Striding Arches - even if the weather was pretty
poor. Not much wind, no rain, just dull visibility. Had lunch on top of Benbrack
and scrambled about on the Arch. Headed on towards Chalk Memorial Bothy feeling
good which would be our afternoon stop, only feeling stiff in the legs during
the last couple of miles. Wouldn't want to stay the night in this bothy - the
local arseholes have been visiting - place covered in fag ends and bongs. Not
nice. Headed towards Sanquhar as the rain came on. Sat it out in someone's barn
until it stopped then began the last stretch over the hills and down towards
Sanquhar. The descent looked long on the map although proved to be fairly easy.
Still feeling very tired by the end of the day but nothing like White Laggan
bothy. Pitched on a public footpath five minutes out of Sanquhar (accidentally
on top of hidden dog poo - yuck) then walking funny to get into Sanquhar. Bought
pizza, coke, crisps and chocolate and marvelling not having to prepare food for
once! Walking funny back to tent then fell asleep easily and content even though
ground was lumpy.
7th June, Sanquhar - Brattleburn
Distance:
39km / Ascent: 1500m / Time
Taken: 13hrs
Walked through Sanquhar for the last time,
seeing how the town's hard boys of the previous night were replaced with old
woman doing their shopping. Big change and completely different atmosphere.
Walked up into the Lead Hills, feeling great and on fire. I was glad to be back
on hills and felt I could thrive there. Descended into a glen and then back up
the hillsides again to a pass. Then downhill into the same valley as
Wanlockhead. Steamed ahead - I was feeling incredible and on top form. Walk to
Wanlockhead was easier than expected and I enjoyed passing through. The town's
mining history remains very evident here. Then a nice climb onto the Lowther
Hill, where we stopped for something to eat. An enormous shower appeared from
the north, initially I thought it was going to miss us but came straight over.
Struck a bit of fear into me to see dark and heavy clouds below me while I stood
on top of Lowther Hill. We rushed off expecting to be hit any time but weren't
until we reached the valley below. The rain came on *heavy*. I was dripping with
water and so was the food cache when we picked it up. Anyway, headed off towards
Daer Reservoir which turned out to be quite long. Was sore and very tired by the
reservoir, but still a hill to climb. Climbed to the summit of Hods Hill (map
says summit was 150m north of where I was but the summit is flat and I was at
the highest point as far as I could tell) then slogged over a couple of
hillocks. Not functioning right by this point - body was worn down and I
probably hadn't fed it enough that day. Could feel the bad, uncomfortable
feeling as the fat burnt away and was not comfortable. Had to turn on Tubular
Bells and Ommadawn (Mike Oldfield) to pass the time. Cut down into the forestry
towards Brattleburn bothy and in growing darkness couldn't find it. Took a wrong
turn off on the forestry tracks, the kind of place you don't want that to
happen. Counting paces from the top of the forestry helped and since I'd counted
600 long paces, we could be only a kilometre into the forest. Bothy was a bit
further down and we reached it with the help of signs which by then was just a
white smudge among the dimming twilight. Very nice bothy, ceiling plastered in
layers of spider webs. I was too tired to care, happy to sleep again.
8th June, Brattleburn - Beattock
Distance:
11.8km / Ascent: 250m / Time
Taken: 2hrs 55mins
Rain arrived. Sore in the morning as usual, but didn't want to leave. The clag
outside was dribbling rain and the humidity was up. Needing to reach Beth in
Moffat by lunchtime, we forced ourselves to step out into the wet. It was
waterproofs on, but warm enough to be sweating underneath. Very uncomfortable.
The ground was magnificently boggy for just a couple of hours of rain and feet
were wet. I was sore by the time we reached the road leading to Moffat and my
right ankle started becoming painful on the outside. I was so uncomfortable,
tired and wishing for rest - we'd barely started. I could feel the walk coming
to a close at the motorway because now it simply wasn't fun. It was just pain.
Torture again. My ankle was getting sore and I felt happy for such because it
offered an excuse. I thought back to the start of the week where we had been
laughing in the sun, talking about everything and anything. Now there was only
the grey, the desolation, silence and drizzle.
I felt some reward as we descended towards Moffat, as the motorway - the half
way point, logically - came into view. But I wondered whether it was right to
finish the walk there. I didn't know if I'd regret it. But we descended towards the
motorway, where Mackenzie finished the Southern Upland Way having done the
eastern section three years previously. 300m beyond the motorway in the
direction of Moffat, Beth drove along and parked in the nearest space. Mackenzie
suggested the walk was over and I agreed without many words needed. And as we
packed up to leave for home, I felt only relief that the torture was now done.
Technically the Southern Upland Way had defeated me, but then again I hadn't
tried anything like this before. Even then, 200kms in five days made me more
than happy and in the long run I've only been glad for what we've done. I don't
regret in the slightest that we cut it short, but instead left the book open to
start off where I left.
'If you're not failing, you're not trying hard enough.'
Aftermath
It was a big relief to have made the decision that morning that we were done. I
returned home happy with our effort, for we had nevertheless reached the half
way point. Anyway, the motorway made for an adequate finishing line so I don't
believe I would have felt the same contentment if we'd stopped short at perhaps
Sanquhar. And to top it off, when I measured out our route accurately, we had
crossed the 200km mark while we walked the last grinding miles down to the
motorway.
I thought at the time I might return for the eastern section when I forgot the
pain of the western. That's probably true so I probably will go back, though I'm
not sure when. My resounding memories of the trip were ones of fun and
companionship, but also tough, and the seemingly recurring theme of self-imposed torture. While
long distance walking probably can't be too well compared to climbing mountains,
I though it made climbing the Munros a walk in the park. The brutality was in
the sustained unrelenting grind. In the mountains, the goal achieved is at the
walk way point - a round trip - but on long distance walks you fight for the
final
goal all day.
But it didn't help that our days never dropped beneath twelve hours. It seems to
me that we went too far too fast at a pace that was unsustainable. But even
though we didn't make it to the east coast, we had fun trying and that's what
counts. The last words about this trip should be that I did it with a walking
partner (Mackenzie), who couldn't have been better, because at the end of the
walk we realised that in a week we had not argued once. We simply got on
superbly, talked and laughed all week and got the heads down to work when
needed. Don't mean to big him up, but it was the best partnership I've had by a
long shot. |
